Rs. 20 crores funding to test and scale innovations in India, South Asia and Africa to address global development challenges
 

New Delhi: Millennium Alliance partners including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly with the Technology Development Board (Department of Science and Technology, Government of India), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), ICCO Cooperation, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth and the Wadhwani Initiative for Sustainable Health (WISH),  today participated in an awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of the Alliance’s second annual development innovation challenge.

Twenty innovators were awarded a total funding of approximately INR20 crores ($3.2 million) under the focus sectors of basic education, affordable healthcare, agriculture/food security, clean energy, and water & sanitation. These innovations were selected through a rigorous selection and evaluation process of over 1400 proposals received as a result of pan-India outreach supported through 40 roadshows in Tier I, II & III cities.

The winning innovators will receive seed funding and other support to test and demonstrate their projects which were selected based on their potential to improve the quality of life for low-income populations in India, South Asia and Africa. The awardees are implementing their initiatives across India and beyond, including in Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Haryana, and in low-income countries in Africa and South Asia.

The awards ceremony was presided over by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union Minister, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Government of India.

The MA is an inclusive and diverse platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise and resources to identify, support, and scale innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit low-income populations across India and the world.  For more information, please visit www.millenniumalliance.in